Jeffrey Wasserstrom

would pool together resources to try to help the brightest in their group to be able to become part of the officialdom. And this kind of pooling together resources to help as a family was an important part of that structure. But there also was a kind of... There was always a tension of that. So what if you don't succeed?

would pool together resources to try to help the brightest in their group to be able to become part of the officialdom. And this kind of pooling together resources to help as a family was an important part of that structure. But there also was a kind of... There was always a tension of that. So what if you don't succeed?

Some of the leaders of rebellions against emperors were failed examination candidates. And you had this issue. And then it became something, well... the system was out of whack and it needed a new leader.

Some of the leaders of rebellions against emperors were failed examination candidates. And you had this issue. And then it became something, well... the system was out of whack and it needed a new leader.

Some of the leaders of rebellions against emperors were failed examination candidates. And you had this issue. And then it became something, well... the system was out of whack and it needed a new leader.

And also there was something built in that was not so much Confucius himself, but one of his main interpreters, early interpreters, Mencius, had this idea which can be seen as a crude justification for rebellion or for a kind of democracy to say that even though the emperor rules at the will of heaven,

And also there was something built in that was not so much Confucius himself, but one of his main interpreters, early interpreters, Mencius, had this idea which can be seen as a crude justification for rebellion or for a kind of democracy to say that even though the emperor rules at the will of heaven,

And also there was something built in that was not so much Confucius himself, but one of his main interpreters, early interpreters, Mencius, had this idea which can be seen as a crude justification for rebellion or for a kind of democracy to say that even though the emperor rules at the will of heaven,

if he doesn't act like a true emperor, if he's not morally upstanding, then heaven will remove its mandate to him. And then there's no obligation to show deference for a ruler who's not behaving like a true ruler. And there it sort of justifies rebellion. And the idea is that If the rebellion isn't justified, then heaven will stop the ruler from being killed.

if he doesn't act like a true emperor, if he's not morally upstanding, then heaven will remove its mandate to him. And then there's no obligation to show deference for a ruler who's not behaving like a true ruler. And there it sort of justifies rebellion. And the idea is that If the rebellion isn't justified, then heaven will stop the ruler from being killed.

if he doesn't act like a true emperor, if he's not morally upstanding, then heaven will remove its mandate to him. And then there's no obligation to show deference for a ruler who's not behaving like a true ruler. And there it sort of justifies rebellion. And the idea is that If the rebellion isn't justified, then heaven will stop the ruler from being killed.

But if heaven has removed his support, then the rebellion will succeed, and then a new ruler will be justified in taking power. So it's an interesting sense that the universe in this Confucian view has a kind of moral... dimension to it, but it also, it's when things actually happen that you see where the side of morality is.

But if heaven has removed his support, then the rebellion will succeed, and then a new ruler will be justified in taking power. So it's an interesting sense that the universe in this Confucian view has a kind of moral... dimension to it, but it also, it's when things actually happen that you see where the side of morality is.

But if heaven has removed his support, then the rebellion will succeed, and then a new ruler will be justified in taking power. So it's an interesting sense that the universe in this Confucian view has a kind of moral... dimension to it, but it also, it's when things actually happen that you see where the side of morality is.

There's been a lot of emphasis on education and sort of working really hard and excelling at some subjects and having... There isn't the civil service exam, but there is the Gaokao, an exam that really can determine where you get, what kind of institution you get into. And I think

There's been a lot of emphasis on education and sort of working really hard and excelling at some subjects and having... There isn't the civil service exam, but there is the Gaokao, an exam that really can determine where you get, what kind of institution you get into. And I think

There's been a lot of emphasis on education and sort of working really hard and excelling at some subjects and having... There isn't the civil service exam, but there is the Gaokao, an exam that really can determine where you get, what kind of institution you get into. And I think

Getting back to this idea of meritocracy, which is strong in a lot of tradition, what it opens you up to is when there is a sense of unfairness in who's getting ahead and how the spoils are being divided, this leads to a kind of outrage. And some of the biggest protests in China have been about this sense of nepotism and which really seems to subvert this whole idea of kind of meritocracy.

Getting back to this idea of meritocracy, which is strong in a lot of tradition, what it opens you up to is when there is a sense of unfairness in who's getting ahead and how the spoils are being divided, this leads to a kind of outrage. And some of the biggest protests in China have been about this sense of nepotism and which really seems to subvert this whole idea of kind of meritocracy.

Getting back to this idea of meritocracy, which is strong in a lot of tradition, what it opens you up to is when there is a sense of unfairness in who's getting ahead and how the spoils are being divided, this leads to a kind of outrage. And some of the biggest protests in China have been about this sense of nepotism and which really seems to subvert this whole idea of kind of meritocracy.